The 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 49th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a seventeen-race series that commenced on 26 March and ended on 12 November.
Michael Schumacher won his second consecutive Drivers' Championship, and Benetton won the Constructors' Championship, the first and only Constructors' title for the Benetton team. Schumacher won nine races en route to the championship, equalling the record set by Nigel Mansell in . He also continued his rivalry with Williams-Renault driver Damon Hill, including collisions at the British and Italian Grands Prix.
Both those races were won by Schumacher's teammate Johnny Herbert, taking his first two F1 victories. Hill's Williams teammate, David Coulthard, claimed his first victory in Portugal, while Ferrari's Jean Alesi achieved his only F1 victory in Canada. Just like Honda in , Renault engines won all but one race in this season.
1995 was also the last season in which the numbering system introduced in 1974 was used. From 1996 car numbers would generally be allocated based on the Constructors' Championship order of the previous season. This was also the first season of new 3 litre engine Formula and last season in which a V12 engine would race in Formula One. Ferrari, the only team racing with V12 in 1995, would switch to using a V10 engine for 1996. This was also the last season during which 1992 champion Nigel Mansell competed as he left the sport once more after a shambolic short-lived two-race stint with McLaren which saw him initially unable to fit comfortably in the Woking team's MP4-10 car during pre-season requiring a wider cockpit to be built to suit Mansell which in turn delayed his debut for the team until the third round of the season at Imola before quitting the team after struggling further at the following round in Spain. Mansell would never race in the sport again thereafter.
This was also the first season featuring 17 races since 1977.
Drivers and constructors The following teams and drivers competed in the 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Goodyear.1995 FIA Formula One World Championship Entry List
Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine No Driver Rounds Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton-Renault B195 Renault RS7 3.0 V10 1 Michael Schumacher All 2 Johnny Herbert All Nokia Tyrrell Yamaha Tyrrell-Yamaha 023 Yamaha OX10C 3.0 V10 3 Ukyo Katayama 1–13, 15–17 Gabriele Tarquini 14 4 Mika Salo All Rothmans Williams Renault Williams-Renault FW17FW17B Renault RS7 3.0 V10 5 Damon Hill All 6 David Coulthard All Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren-Mercedes MP4/10MP4/10BMP4/10C Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10 7 Mark Blundell 1–2, 5–17 Nigel Mansell 3–4 8 Mika Häkkinen 1–14, 16–17 Jan Magnussen 15 Footwork Hart Footwork-Hart FA16 Hart 830 3.0 V8 9 Gianni Morbidelli 1–7, 15–17 Massimiliano Papis 8–14 10 Taki Inoue All MTV Simtek Ford Simtek-Ford S951 Ford-Cosworth EDB1 3.0 V8 11 Domenico Schiattarella 1–5 12 Jos Verstappen 1–5 Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan-Peugeot 195 Peugeot A10 3.0 V10 14 Rubens Barrichello All 15 Eddie Irvine All Pacific Team Lotus Pacific-Ford PR02 Ford-Cosworth EDC1 3.0 V8 16 Bertrand Gachot 1–8, 15–17 Giovanni Lavaggi 9–12 Jean-Denis Delétraz 13–14 17 Andrea Montermini All Junior Larrousse F1 Larrousse-Ford LH95 Ford ED 3.0 V8 19 Christophe Bouchut None 20 Éric Bernard None Parmalat Forti Ford Forti-Ford FG01 Ford-Cosworth EDD1 3.0 V8 21 Pedro Diniz All 22 Roberto Moreno All Minardi Scuderia Italia Minardi-Ford M195 Ford-Cosworth EDM1 3.0 V8 23 Pierluigi Martini 1–9 Pedro Lamy 10–17 24 Luca Badoer All Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier-Mugen-Honda JS41 Mugen-Honda MF-301 3.0 V10 25 Aguri Suzuki 1–3, 9, 15–16 Martin Brundle 4–8, 10–14, 17 26 Olivier Panis All Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 412T2 Ferrari Tipo 044/1 3.0 V12 27 Jean Alesi All 28 Gerhard Berger All Red Bull Sauber Ford Sauber-Ford C14 Ford ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8 29 Karl Wendlinger 1–4, 16–17 Jean-Christophe Boullion 5–15 30 Heinz-Harald Frentzen AllSources:
Background There was a threat of a drivers' strike over the terms of the 1995 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Super Licences, which allowed the FIA to demand promotional appearances and forbade the drivers from criticising the championship. This was resolved by the governing body prior to the race, ensuring full driver participation.
Team changes
At the end of the 1994 season, Team Lotus left F1 after 36 years in the sport, winning 6 Drivers' and 7 Constructors' Championships, with the team ceasing operations in January 1995. Shortly before the team closed doors, the team's assets were bought by David Hunt, brother of 1976 Formula One champion James Hunt, who later announced that the Lotus name would be used by Pacific Grand Prix under the name Pacific Team Lotus. The Larrousse team, with drivers Éric Bernard and Christophe Bouchut, failed to turn up for any of the on-track sessions. With French government aid not forthcoming, the team ran out of money. And with a 1995 chassis not yet built, team owner Gérard Larrousse elected to miss the first two rounds of the season in the hope of competing from the San Marino Grand Prix onwards. No funding ever arrived and it was too late for them to build a car for the season. There were talks with the DAMS Formula 3000 team, but Jean-Paul Driot, boss of DAMS, wanted to buy Larrousse and run the team themselves. After a sponsor deal with Malaysian oil company Petronas also fell through, Driot announced on 13 February that they had abandoned plans to enter F1 for 1995. He intended to return to Formula 3000 and prepare for an F1 bid in . Formula 3000 team Forti made the step up to Formula One, with their Forti FG01 being the last F1 car to use a manual gearbox. The status and the ownership of Ligier was under scrutiny. When Martin Brundle signed with them for 1995, rumours spread that Tom Walkinshaw would take up the function of team boss, since Brundle and Walkinshaw had many successful collaborations in the past. Walkinshaw worked for Benetton in as Engineering Director), but when that team was found to use an illegal fuel filter at the German Grand Prix, they were let off the hook, after promising to fire Walkinshaw and implementing major changes within the team. On the side of Benetton, this deal was negotiated by Flavio Briatore. However, since he was also the owner of Ligier, it seemed more like a promotion for Walkinshaw, albeit with a smaller team."Brundle returns to Ligier" GrandPrix. Retrieved 10 March 2007 Furthermore, rivals compared the Ligier JS41 to the Benetton B195, the only apparent difference being the engine in each car. Commenting on the design similarities, Walkinshaw said:
The 1995 season saw a major reshuffle among the engine suppliers: Benetton ended their 7-year association with Ford Motor Company by switching to the Renault RS7 engines (which were the same used by Renault's business partner Williams F1 team). The contract with Ford was taken up by Sauber and they parted ways with long time partner Mercedes-Benz. McLaren then offered a new home for the Mercedes engine supplier, ending their relationship with Peugeot after just one season. Jordan took on the Peugeot engine deal, replacing their Hart contract. And so, finally, the Hart company moved teams to Footwork Arrows. After four years as an independent engine supplier, Ilmor eventually shifted focus to trusted engine designer, builder, assembler and tuner to Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines despite the partnership started from 1994 season onwards. Pacific Racing replaced their 1993-spec Ilmor engines for customer Ford EDC engines. Minardi had been expected to run with Mugen-Honda engines, but at the last minute, Ligier boss Flavio Briatore persuaded the Japanese engine supplier to supply his team, leaving Minardi in a mess. Their M195 was designed for the Mugen-Honda V10 and parts were already being made. The team then had to work flat out to build a brand new car with a Ford ED engine, tuned by Magneti Marelli. Team owner Giancarlo Minardi announced he was taking legal action against the Japanese supplier."Minardi takes legal action against Mugen Honda" GrandPrix. Retrieved 10 March 2007 The Simtek team went bankrupt on 1 June, after the fifth race of the season.
Driver changes
On 28 October 1994, Ligier issued a press release stating that Olivier Panis and Johnny Herbert were going to be their official drivers for all of the 1995 season. However, at the end of January, they announced that Herbert was no longer at the team, joining Benetton instead, and that Aguri Suzuki and Martin Brundle would share the second seat. The announcement came as a big shock to Suzuki and his Japanese backers, who believed he had secured the Ligier seat for the whole season. During his "off" races, Brundle joined veteran commentator Murray Walker in the BBC commentary box. They later became commentators for ITV, after Brundle retired from F1 in , and Brundle is now working for Sky Sports F1 alongside David Croft. After Ayrton Senna's passing, his seat at Williams had alternated between Nigel Mansell and David Coulthard. Mansell left the team at the beginning of January and Coulthard was offered a full-time drive."Mansell en route to McLaren" GrandPrix. Retrieved 10 March 2007 Mika Salo replaced Mark Blundell at Tyrrell, with Gabriele Tarquini now the team's test driver. Before being confirmed as race driver, Salo was involved in a contract dispute with the Pacific team. He had raced for Team Lotus in and was thought to be free when the team withdrew, until new owner David Hunt coupled the name with the Pacific team and insisted Salo was obliged to race for them. The Contract Recognition Board lawyers and Tyrrell representatives were astounded by Hunt, but announced on 13 February that it had ruled in favour of Tyrrell, because the Team Lotus which Salo had signed for was not the same Team Lotus which now claimed his services."Pacific loses Salo" GrandPrix. Retrieved 17 March 2007 Salo was unveiled as Tyrrell driver later that evening when they unveiled their 1995 car."Tyrrell unveils 1995 package" GrandPrix. Retrieved 17 March 2007 Mark Blundell replaced fellow countryman Martin Brundle at McLaren. However, Nigel Mansell was in the McLaren seat from the San Marino Grand Prix. He had already been confirmed at the team when he left Williams, but he could not fit in the car. His deal was also dropped from $15 million to $10 million because Marlboro refused to pay his asking price."McLaren confirms Mansell" GrandPrix. Retrieved 10 March 2007 Mansell said that the 1995 season would almost certainly be his last in Formula One. Simtek brought in Jos Verstappen from Benetton instead of Hideki Noda, who was scheduled to be the team's first driver,"Who goes where in 1995" GrandPrix. Retrieved 16 March 2007 but was not able to race, after the Great Hanshin earthquake resulted in a lack of personal funds, and was therefore relegated to share the second drive with Domenico Schiattarella."Verstappen signs for Simtek" GrandPrix. Retrieved 17 March 2007 Noda ended up not driving for the team at all, as they went bankrupt after the Monaco round. New team Forti brought in veteran Roberto Moreno along with rookie Pedro Diniz. Diniz was partly selected as his family controls one of Brazil's largest food distribution companies."Forti – getting ready for action" GrandPrix. Retrieved 10 March 2007 Christian Fittipaldi was replaced by Taki Inoue at Footwork. Pacific replaced Paul Belmondo with Andrea Montermini. Minardi replaced Michele Alboreto with Luca Badoer.
Mid-season changes